Universal remote controls are generally well known devices that can be programmed by a user to operate one of a plurality of different types of consumer electronic devices produced by different manufacturers. A consumer electronic device typically has its own dedicated remote control that uses infrared signals to remotely control the operation of the device. The appropriate infrared signal is associated with a particular button or sequence of buttons on a keypad of the remote control. By depressing the button or buttons on the remote control, the user causes the remote control to transmit the corresponding infrared signal. The electronic device receives the infrared signal, processes its content, and performs a function associated with the infrared signal. However, since each consumer electronic device typically requires its own remote control with its own infrared (IR) signal structure, a user must keep track of a multitude of remote controls and recall which remote control operates which electronic device—all of which can be very cumbersome.
As a result of these and other disadvantages, universal remote controls are highly desired. Through a universal remote control, a user can consolidate several distinct control devices into a single control device for remotely controlling a variety of different types of consumer electronic devices from different manufacturers. There are generally two different methods for accomplishing this consolidation—preprogrammed or learning. Since each manufacturer uses a different signal structure for each dedicated remote control, a preprogrammed universal remote control has a large database or library of reference codes stored within the universal remote control.
The reference code identifies the specific type of consumer electronic device and its manufacturer and allows the universal remote control to transmit control signals having the proper signal structure to the device to be controlled. The proper signal structure may be determined by characteristics that include carrier frequency, pulse width, pulse modulation and overall timing. Reference codes may be manually entered into a universal remote control or a universal remote control may automatically search through the database of reference codes until the desired code is found.
Alternatively, a universal remote control can be programmed to “learn” the proper signal structure. This type of universal remote control requires a user to “teach” the universal remote control the desired functions of the dedicated remote control. Typically, this is accomplished by switching the universal remote control into a “learning mode,” and physically orienting the two control units such that the universal remote control can receive the infrared transmissions from the dedicated remote control for the operations to be emulated.
Often, this learning process begins as an information storage process, wherein an infrared transmission from the dedicated remote control is stored (and possibly compressed) as it is being received by the universal remote control. When the universal remote control is subsequently used to transmit a command to a particular consumer electronics device, the appropriate stored signal code is recalled from the memory of the universal remote (and possibly uncompressed) and transmitted to the appropriate consumer electronic device.
Regardless of the particular type of universal remote control, the process of replacing a dedicated remote control with a universal remote control has its disadvantages. For example, a user may already be familiar with the form and functionality of a dedicated remote control and will have to learn an entirely new form and functionality associated with a new remote control. The new universal remote control may have different buttons, different layouts or combinations of both.
Additionally, the overall shape and design of the new universal remote control may be different from that of the existing dedicated remote control which the user has already invested time and energy into learning. As a result, it would be beneficial to allow users to still benefit from the advantages of a universal remote control feature without having to adopt an entirely new remote control unit.